I know this is an old post before this, but the makers of Diablo and I think founders of Blizzard too both quit some years back and formed another company in the 2000s. They didn't have a hand in D3, but what they did was stay true to the Diablo roots in a more cartoon-ish looking style though and created Torchlight 1 and 2. They feel far more like the old Diablo games than D3 by a mile. I knocked off T1 earlier this year and much of the way through the sequel as of now.

I don't think the hate has so much to do with the way the game played as it did with initial emphasis Blizzard placed on in-game currency and auction house tactics. There was a point where it was painfully clear that Blizzard wanted people putting money into the game beyond the initial purchase and they put that above all other priorities. Then there was the always online requirement for an experience that many wanted to approach as a single player endeavor. Shoddy connectivity in the early days and weeks prevented people from simply enjoying a game, online or off, that they paid an initial $60+ for.

Now it's pretty clear that the company as a whole has changed direction, but there is probably some residual discontent that remains; a mark on Diablo 3 in the mindshare of its fanbase. Their approach to D3 and other games (Overwatch) as well as their general business practices are radically different today than they were when D3 launched. I applaud them for listening to their communities and turning things around.

I don't think the hate has so much to do with the way the game played as it did with initial emphasis Blizzard placed on in-game currency and auction house tactics. There was a point where it was painfully clear that Blizzard wanted people putting money into the game beyond the initial purchase and they put that above all other priorities. Then there was the always online requirement for an experience that many wanted to approach as a single player endeavor. Shoddy connectivity in the early days and weeks prevented people from simply enjoying a game, online or off, that they paid an initial $60+ for.

Now it's pretty clear that the company as a whole has changed direction, but there is probably some residual discontent that remains; a mark on Diablo 3 in the mindshare of its fanbase. Their approach to D3 and other games (Overwatch) as well as their general business practices are radically different today than they were when D3 launched. I applaud them for listening to their communities and turning things around.

While I agree the AH stuff was a misstep, I don't think it was devious tactics. They saw the rampant market abuse D2 had and were trying to curtail that. However, they assumed everyone would use the AH and thus scaled stuff with that assumption, as they feared it would break the balance of the game if they didn't.